Metallic ore-collecting member with a plurality of magnetized surface areas



Dec. 22, 1959 R. P. MONAUGHT 2,918,170 METALLIC ORE-COLLECTING MEMBER WITH A PLURALITY OF MAGNETIZED SURFACE AREAS Filed May 15, 1957 INVENTOR. ROBE RT P. M NAUGHT M Ern BY MY ATTORNEYS United States Patent METALLIC ORE-COLLECTING MEMBER WITH A PLURISXLITY OF MAGNETIZED SURFACE AREA Robert P. McNaught, San Francisco, Calif. Application May 13, 1957, Serial No. 658,616

4 Claims. (Cl. 209-213) The present invention relates to improvements in a metallic ore-collecting member with a plurality of magnetized surface areas, which substantially cover the entire outer surface of the member. The invention consists of the combinations, constructions and arrangements, as hereinafter described and claimed.

An object of my invention is to provide a magnetized metallic ore-collecting member, which is designed for removing magnetizable particles from ore. It may be used for removing such particles during the treatment of ores by the flotation process; however, it may be used in connection with other processes in which valuable minerals are separated from the tailings.

In order that the use of my ore-collecting member may be understood, I shall describe the froth flotation process somewhat in detail. as a process of ore concentration involving the segregation of the minerals in an ore into concentrates, containing the valuable minerals; and a tailing, containing the gangue components of the ore, the latter usually being worthless. To effect such beneficiation, ores are ground in water to liberate the valuable minerals from gangue. The resulting ore pulp is conditioned with various chemicals, including froth-producing compounds, and agitated in flotation machines, which introduce and disperse air in the form of fine bubbles throughout the pulp. The bubbles collect at the surface of the pulp as a froth in which the valuable minerals are collected as concentrates. The latter are removed by skimming, or by overflowing the froth from the flotation cell. Gangue remain in the body of the pulp and is removed from the operation as a tailing product.

My invention makes use of the magnetized ore-collecting member, which may be hollow so as to float in an aqueous liquid contained in the cell. The magnetized surface areas of the member will attract ground ore that can be magnetized, and such ore will be picked up by the member and will adhere to its outer surface. As the ground magnetized ore is thus collected, the weight of the member will increase to a point where the member will cease to float and will drop to the bottom of the liquid in the cell, with the magnetized ore still adhering thereto. The member may then be removed from the cell, and the magnetized ore freed therefrom, whereupon the clean member may be placed back in the cell to repeat the process.- I

The weight of the magnetized member may be varied by making the metal shell of the member thicker, up to a point where the entire member may be solid, if desired.

Other objects and advantages will appear as the specification continues, and the novel features will be set forth in the appended claims.

Drawing For a better understanding of the invention, reference should be had to the accompanying drawing, in which: Figure 1 is a sectional view through a cell and shows Froth flotation has been defined one floating magnetized member, without any magnetizable particles adhering thereto; and, also, discloses a second magnetized member that has collected sufiicient magnetizable particles to cause the member to start sinking in the liquid of the cell;

Figure 2 is a view illustrating the manner in which the surface of the metallic member is provided with magnetized areas of different polarities; and

Figure 3 is an elevational view of a bipole magnetized ball.

While I have shown only the preferred forms of my invention, it should be understood that various changes, or modifications, may be made within the scope of the annexed claims without departing from the spirit thereof.

Detailed description Referring to Figure 2 of the drawing, it will be noted that I provide an ore-collecting member A, which may be of any desired shape and size. This member is made of any kind of material that can be magnetized and which will remain permanently magnetized. The member A may be hollow so as to float on an aqueous liquid,

or the thickness of the wall 1 may be increased up to the point where the entire member is made solid, in which event the member A will sink in an aqueous liquid.

The entire surface of the member A may be magnetized in any manner desired. I have shown a horseshoe electromagnet B, that has one leg for a north pole (N), and a second leg for a south pole (S), when the magnet is energized by an electric current. An electric coil 2 is placed on the leg N of the magnet and an electric coil 3 is placed on the pole S. A source of current is indicated at C, and a circuit is closed from this source through wires 4, 5, 6 and 7 to the coils 2 and 3, when a switch 8 is closed. The coils 2 and 3 are thus energized, and the electromagnet is now ready to be used for magnetizing the member A.

The electromagnet B is shown with its poles N and S as being pressed against the surface of the metallic member A in Figure 2. Lines of flux 9 will flow between the poles and through that portion of the member A that lies between the poles. The lines of flux will create a permanent magnetized south pole area 10 on the surface of the member and a permanent north pole area 11. The lines of flux 9 have sufficient energy and the poles of the electromagnet are kept in contact with the surface of the member A long enough to make the areas 10 and 11 function as two poles of a permanent magnet.

Of course, the greatest concentration of magnetism will be in the centers of the areas 10 and 11, where the N and S poles of the electromagnet contact the member A, and this concentration of magnetic force will gradually diminish in a radial direction from these points outwardly.

I have indicated additional permanent N and S magnetic areas on the member A, and these areas are formed by moving the electromagnet from place to place on the surface of the member in a predetermined manner. After each pair of N and S areas is formed, the switch 8 is opened, and the electromagnet is moved to a new location and then the switch is closed again. Care is taken that the adjacent magnetized areas on the surface of the member A are of opposite polarity; and this is indicated in Figure 2 by the letters N. and S that are arranged symmetrically over one-half of the member that is shown. The other one-half of member is similarly provided with pairs of magnetized areas of opposite polarity. Therefore, there will be an even number of permanently magnetized areas on the outer surface of the member.

As previously mentioned, the member A may be a hollow shell as indicated in Figure 1, or the thickness of this wall may be increased to any desired extent up 3 to a point where the entire interior of the member will be of solid metal.

Operation In Figure 1, I show a cell D in section, which may be part of a froth flotation process machine. This cell may be of any size and shape desired, and it contains a liquid E, which receives ore pulp that contains magnetizable particles which are to be removed.

During recent years, considerable interest has been shown in the flotation of low grade iron ores, particularly those ores showing intimate association with iron minerals and quartz gangue. The chief iron mineral in such ares is hematite, with some magnetite and varying quantities of other oxidized iron minerals. The flotation of ilmenite (iron titanium oxide) is possible so as to separate this from an apatite in certain ores. Iron-bearing minerals, such as micas, ilmenite, iron oxide minerals, etc., which are contaminants in glass sands and feldspars, can be removed with the magnetized member A, so that tailings sufficiently low in iron can be used in the manufacture of glass and ceramics.

l have mentioned just a few ores that have magnetizable particles, and I do not wish to be confined to those mentioned. These particles cling to the surfaces of bubbles that enter the base of the cell D, and rise vertically in the liquid E during the flotation process. Figure 1 shows the bubbles F on a much larger scale than the magnetized members A. These bubbles will rise in the liquid E. The magnetizable particles of ore are indicated by the dark portions 12, clinging to the surfaces of the bubbles; while the gangue particles are indicated by the light portions 13 that also cling to the bubbles.

A layer of froth G will form on the top of the liquid E, or on the surface of the pulp, and its function will be the separation and concentration of the magnetizable particles in flotation. By the combined agitating and aerating action of the flotation process, magnetizable ore pulp will be directed toward the froth layer G. The concentration of the dark grains or particles 12 (magnetizable ore) increases in the upper portion of the froth layer or column G. The gangue will drop away from the mineral concentrate.

It is into this body of ore pulp that I place one or more of the magnetized members A. These members are hollow and will float in an equeous liquid as shown in Figure 1. As the members collect the magnetizable particles, the weight of each member A will increase and the member will sink in the ore pulp, as shown by the member A at the left-hand side of Figure 1. After the member has dropped to the bottom of the cell D, it may be removed by any suitable means (not shown), and then the magnetized particles may be removed from the outer surface of the member, such as by washing the particles therefrom.

A modified form of the invention is shown in Figure 3. A ball H of magnetizable material has one-half of its area provided with a permanent magnet pole N, indicated at H and the other half of its area provided with a permanent magnet pole S, indicated at H A groove 14 is provided in the ball H, and divides the outer surface into two identical hemispheres. The groove is about As deep in a 2" diameter ball, although I do not wish to be confined to any exact dimensions.

The ball H can be made hollow so as to float in an aqueous liquid, or its wall can be made thicker up to a point where the ball is solid. Therefore, the ball can be made heavy enough to sink in the aqueous liquid E. The ball is preferably magnetized while the metal forming the ball is hot, because it has been found that a stronger permanent magnet will result.

The spherical surface of the balls A or H will permit only a minute area thereof to contact with the wall of the cell D or with the bottom of the cell. It is possible to have the cell walls and bottom made of iron and still there will not be sufficient magnetic attraction between the ball surface and cell wall surface to hold the ball from free movement in the liquid. The minute area of contact between the spherical surface of the ball and the adjacent cell wall surface will prevent this. The ball H will attract magnetizable particles in the ground ore.

1 claim:

1. A spherical member having its outer surface made of magnetizable material and having a groove dividing its outer surface into two equal hemispheres, one of the hemispheres being permanently magnetized as a north pole while the other hemisphere is permanently magnetized as a south pole.

2. A member for collecting magnetizable particles and comprising: a spherical body member adapted to freely roll about in any direction and having its entire outer surface composed of a magnetizable material; said outer surface material having a plurality of permanent magnetized areas of opposite polarity to attract magnetizable particles to the surface of the body member when said body member is disposed adjacent to said particles; the permanent magnetized areas being dispersed over the entire spherical surface of the body member; the sperical surface of the body member being shaped to contact with a substantially flat surface at only a minute area of the body member at a time, whereby the magnetized areas will not prevent the body member from rolling about.

3. The combination as set forth in claim 2: and in which adjacent magnetized areas on the surface of the member are of opposite polarity.

4-. The combination as set forth in claim 2: and in which the spherical body member will normally float in a body of aqueous liquid when its surface is free of any of said magnetizable particles; the weight of the body member being increased as the magnetizable particles in the aqueous liquid is attracted and adheres to the body member until a point is reached where the weight of the body member and the particles adhering thereto overcomes the buoyancy of the body member and it will sink in the aqueous liquid.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,350,534 Rosinger June 6, 1944 2,518,758 Cook Aug. 15, 1950 2,707,557 Spodig May 3, 1955 

